Ericsson takes pole at Macau

The TOM'S driver, who had been quickest in first qualifying, saw a host of rivals push him down the order in the second session before he moved back to the front with 10 minutes remaining.

However, it then appeared to all go wrong when he got sideways under braking at Matsuya and slid into the barriers - dislodging his rear wing.

A red flag moments later, however, guaranteed that nobody was able to challenge Ericsson's best time, so the Swede kept hold of his slot ahead of Jean-Karl Vernay, Macau rookie Valtteri Bottas and last year's runner-up Edoardo Mortara.

"I was pushing quite hard and I got the pole. But then they went on the radio and said it was tight, there are a lot of guys who are quick," said Ericsson. "I pushed harder and went in the wall. It bent the wishbone but it was not a problem, so it's looking good for tomorrow."

British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo will start fifth after his hopes of taking a sensational pole on debut at Macau were wrecked when he ran into the barriers at Lisboa - just brushing them with his front wing.

Pos Driver                Team         Car    Time         Gap
 1. Marcus Ericsson       TOM's        D/T    2:10.042
 2. Jean-Karl Vernay      Signature    D/V    2:10.081  +0.039
 3. Valtteri Bottas       ART          D/M    2:10.108  +0.066
 4. Edoardo Mortara       Signature    D/V    2:10.234  +0.192
 5. Daniel Ricciardo      Carlin       D/V    2:10.780  +0.738
 6. Laurens Vanthoor      Signature    D/V    2:11.073  +1.031
 7. Jules Bianchi         ART          D/M    2:11.279  +1.237
 8. Sam Bird              ART          D/M    2:11.334  +1.292
 9. Stefano Coletti       Prema        D/M    2:11.476  +1.434
10. Mika Maki             Hitech       D/M    2:11.812  +1.770
11. Takuto Iguchi         TOM's        D/T    2:12.024  +1.982
12. Brendon Hartley       Carlin       D/V    2:12.055  +2.013
13. Roberto Merhi         Manor        D/M    2:12.068  +2.026
14. Alexander Sims        Double R     D/M    2:12.256  +2.214
15. Renger van der Zande  Double R     D/M    2:12.306  +2.264
16. Yuji Kunimoto         NOW          D/T    2:12.547  +2.505
17. Max Chilton           Carlin       D/V    2:12.568  +2.526
18. Wayne Boyd            Hitech       D/M    2:12.749  +2.707
19. Carlos Huertas        Manor        D/M    2:12.913  +2.871
20. Jake Rosenzweig       Fortec       D/M    2:13.000  +2.958
21. Kei Cozzolino         Toda         D/H    2:13.051  +3.009
22. Daniel Zampieri       Prema        D/M    2:13.734  +3.692
23. Victor Garcia         Fortec       D/M    2:13.781  +3.739
24. Koki Saga             Le Beausset  D/T    2:13.825  +3.783
25. Stef Dusseldorp       Kolles       D/V    2:13.946  +3.904
26. Alexandre Imperatori  Kolles       D/V    2:14.124  +4.082
27. Henry Arundel         Carlin       D/V    2:14.362  +4.320
28. Daniel McKenzie       Fortec       D/M    2:16.210  +6.168
29. Michael Ho            Manor        D/M    2:18.180  +8.138
30. Kevin Chen            Double R     D/M    2:18.910  +8.868